Several companies made significant movements in midday trading:
1. Visa experienced a nearly 4% decline following a Bloomberg report indicating that the Justice Department is preparing to file an antitrust lawsuit against the credit card network and payments processor.
2. Smartsheet saw its shares surge over 6% after Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners agreed to purchase the software maker for $56.50 per share in cash, totaling approximately $8.4 billion. The deal is expected to close by January 2025, pending shareholder approval unless another offer materializes.
3. Chinese stocks saw a notable rise after China’s central bank announced a range of stimulus measures. E-commerce giants such as JD.com, PDD Holdings, and Alibaba saw increases between 7% and 11%, while automakers Nio and Li Auto advanced over 8% each.
4. Thor Industries’ stock climbed by 5% following a stronger-than-expected earnings report. Thor reported earnings of $1.68 per share on $2.53 billion in revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter, surpassing the analysts’ expectations of $1.30 per share on $2.47 billion in revenue, as surveyed by LSEG.
5. Arlo Technologies saw its shares rise by 4.5% after the company announced that its board had approved a buyback of up to $50 million in common stock. Arlo specializes in wireless surveillance products, including security cameras and video doorbells.
6. Flowserve’s stock moved nearly 5% higher after Bank of America reiterated a buy rating, noting that the company’s exposure to nuclear power is “underappreciated.” The bank suggested that Flowserve could benefit from the reopening of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant and an anticipated increase in demand for nuclear energy.
7. BioNTech’s U.S.-listed shares advanced by 4.1% following an upgrade by Morgan Stanley to overweight from equal weight. Morgan Stanley highlighted that BioNTech has effectively executed a broad clinical development program.
8. GE Vernova saw a 2% rise in its stock price after Guggenheim initiated coverage with a buy rating and set a price target of $300, which is 19% higher than the stock’s closing price on Monday. Analyst Joseph Osha indicated potential for a “multi-year improvement in profitability.”
These movements were reported by Alex Harring, Samantha Subin, Lisa Kailai Han, Jesse Pound, and Sarah Min of CNBC.
